NASCAR Raceday – Busch, Edwards face stiff competition at Lowe's

This week's stop on the Sprint Cup series is the Coca-Cola 600, the annual marathon at Lowe's Motor Speedway which is the longest race on the series. Casey Mears is the defending champion at this event, but one of his Hendrick teammates would have to be considered the favorite in 2008.

You know you have set high standards for yourself when sixth place in the standings means to some that you are losing your touch, but that is where two-time defending Jimmie Johnson finds himself. The No.48 driver, who is sponsored by Lowe's, has made this event his own playground during his career, with three victories in six races and an outstanding average finish of 3.7. Johnson has never finished outside of the top ten in this event.

JGR's Kyle Busch has roared through all three of NASCAR's top series this season, and always seems to be running near the front. The No.18 driver was well out in front in last week's All-Star Race at Lowe's before experiencing engine. If “Rowdy” can save his car until the latter parts of the race, he will have a great chance to turn his record in this race around. Busch has an average finish of 31.2 in four Coca-Cola 600s.

Roush-Fenway's Carl Edwards is tied with Busch for the Sprint Cup lead in victories with three, and the No.99 driver has proven to be a force on the 1.5-mile tracks this season. Edwards has a solid 7.0 finishing average in three editions of this race.

Gillett-Evernham's Kasey Kahne surprised everyone by winning the All-Star Race after being voted in by the fans, but the No.9 driver has fared decently at Lowe's in the past with a 15.5 finishing average. Kahne has not won a points race since 2006, when he won six, and the All-Star Race may have been the spark he needed to jumpstart his team.

A darkhorse pick could be Petty Enterprise's Bobby Labonte, who is tied with seven active drivers with ten appearances in this race, and he has the highest finishing average with 7.4. The 2000 Cup champion has showed a lot of loyalty by staying with Petty despite having inferior equipment, but it is clear that Labonte can still drive the wheels off a racecar.

Born in the betting capital of Las Vegas, Lee-Roy has grown to appreciate the likes of IndyCar and Formula 1 racing, but his first love is the high-speed ovals of NASCAR and he is a HUGE Tony Stewart fan. When it comes to motorsports handicapping, Buckles takes the checkered flag. Thoughts or questions? Email Comments@BetOnline.com.